Hotel Saddleback

Hotel Saddleback is a roadside hotel at 12500 Firestone Boulevard in Norwalk, California. Located southeast of downtown Los Angeles, the hotel sits close to the freeway network and has the practical, slightly old-fashioned character of a classic Southern California stopover. Its low-rise layout, pool area and motel-like atmosphere made it a useful location for a road movie about a family crossing the United States by car.

The hotel is best known as a filming location from “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983). The hotel’s own website notes that the film was shot there, and it was used as the place for the hotel pool scene with Clark Griswold and the woman in the Ferrari.

In “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983), Hotel Saddleback appears during the Griswold family’s journey toward Walley World. After another exhausting stage of the trip, the family stops at the hotel for the night. Clark Griswold later meets the mysterious woman in the red Ferrari by the pool, while the rest of his family has gone to bed. The scene turns the hotel’s pool area into one of the film’s more awkward comic moments, with Clark trying to act confident and carefree before the situation slips out of his control. The real pool and hotel setting give the scene the feel of a believable roadside overnight stop, fitting the film’s mix of family travel chaos, temptation and embarrassment.

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